Four Takeaways as Reigning Monarchs PSG Vanquish Bayern, Return to Champions League Final

Paris Saint-Germain are headed to the Champions League final for the second season in a row after drawing 1–1 against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the semifinals Wednesday, advancing with a 6–5 victory on aggregate.

Luis Enrique’s side entered the second leg at the Allianz Arena with a 5–4 first leg advantage. Less than three minutes into the contest, Ousmane Dembélé increased the Parisian advantage, his opener silencing the previously rocking Bavarian crowd.

It wasn’t the action-packed match many expected following the electric first leg, and PSG always seemed in control of proceedings. Bayern Munich pushed forward but lacked quality and imagination, until Harry Kane scored deep into stoppage time to add some excitement to the final minutes of the game.

Kane’s strike was ultimately too little, too late, and PSG will defend their Champions League crown against Arsenal in the final. In the end, the best team advanced, and now the stage is set for a mouthwatering final between the best team in the competition this season vs. the best team in the world over the past 18 months.

Here’s four takeaways from the the second leg as PSG triumphed over Bayern Munich.

Kompany’s Fullback Gamble Backfires

Konrad Laimer (left) was chasing shadows all night. | Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

Alphonso Davies at left back experienced all sorts of trouble in the first leg, so Kompany gambled and opted to play Josip Stanišić on the left with Konrad Laimer getting the start at right back. PSG’s attack is almost impossible to stop, but unfortunately for Kompany, Laimer was at the scene of the crime instantly, as the visitors extended their advantage.

The Austria international struggled from the start against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and just two minutes in, he was late to jump and press Fabían Ruíz, who slid a pass for Kvaratskhelia to exploit the space that the right back left behind him.

Dayot Upamecano was also sucked high-up the pitch, and he was never going to catch the speedy Georgian when he was unleashed down the wing. Kvaratskhelia had time and space to settle before teeing-up Dembélé with a low cross for the Ballon d’Or holder to fire a rocket past Manuel Neuer to put the visitors ahead.

Bayern’s backline was viewed as the team’s Achilles heel and had already been exposed in recent European contests. Less than three minutes into the second leg, PSG easily bypassed the leaky defense to increase an advantage they would not squander. Tha Bavarians simply lacked the defensive quality to contain the visitors.

Davies came on in the second half and was one of Bayern’s best players on the night, assisting Kane’s late goal and creating a number of chances during his cameo. In hindsight, Kompany might wish he had the Canadian on the pitch from the start.

Kvaratskhelia’s Historic Champions League Run

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is unplayable at the moment. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

You’d be hard pressed to find a player performing at a higher level than the dazzling Kvaratskhelia currently. Two minutes into the second leg, the Georgian assisted Dembélé’s opener and became the first player in Champions League history to collect a goal contribution in seven-straight knockout-phase games.

Ever since the second leg of the knockout stage playoffs against AS Monaco, Kvaratskhelia has recorded a goal involvement in every game the Parisians have played in the competition. The 25-year-old winger has seven goals and three assists in that stretch.

Kvaratskhelia has become one of the most decisive players in the competition over the past two years, also registering goal involvements in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final during PSG’s run to the 2024–25 title.

Whether its Laimer, Upamecano or Josip Stanišić, Bayern Munich had no answers for the electrifying Georgian, who bagged three goal contributions across both legs. As a result, Kvaratskhelia made Champions League history with an unprecedented feat.

Kvaratskhelia is one of the best players in the world currently, and he’ll arguably be the biggest absence from this summer’s World Cup.

Bayern’s Prolific Trio Misfires at Worst Possible Time

Michael Olise was poor in the second leg. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

This season, Michale Olise, Harry Kane and Luis Díaz became only the fifth attacking trio of the 21st century to score 100-plus goals between them in a single campaign. But in the second leg against PSG, they failed to perform up to their lofty standards.

Kane scored deep into stoppage-time with a goal that served for little consolation other than to avoid Bayern Munich getting blanked in a game for the first time this season. But the other two heads of the three-headed monster had a night to forget.

Olise had his moments against Nuno Mendes, but even when he managed to get away from the Portuguese star, he lacked quality in the final action, failing to hit the target or firing weak shots Matvéi Safónov had no trouble stopping. In the second half, the Frenchman was mostly invisible.

The trio produced just three shots on target the entire night after being directly involved in Bayern’s four goals of the first leg. PSG center back Willian Pacho delivered a man of the match performance, and even without Achraf Hakimi, the visitors never truly were under serious pressure. In fact, Enrique’s side had a number of chances to extend their lead in the second half.

Kane managed to save some face with his goal, but it was a subpar performance from arguably the best front-three in the world. Olise and Díaz particularly, picked the worst time imaginable to throw a dud.

Bayern might feel slighted by controversial refereeing decisions, but in the end, their attack was nowhere near the level it’s performed at this season.

PSG On The Doorstep of Historic Champions League Double

PSG are Champions League finalists—again. | Sebastian Widmann/UEFA/Getty Images

PSG are just 90 minutes away from becoming only the second team this century and since the inception of the Champions League format in 1992 to win the competition in consecutive seasons, a feat only Real Madrid achieved during the mid-2010’s.

For the second season in a row, as soon as the knockout rounds kicked-off, Enrique’s Parisians pressed the accelerator and started looking like the best team in the world. The aggregate result is unquestionably tight, but PSG are deserved finalists over Bayern Munich.

After over a decade where PSG spent millions upon billions to try and conquer Europe for the first time only to suffer heartbreak after heartbreak, Enrique arrived and in just three seasons has established a side that has a chance to enter the pantheon of the greatest teams in Champions League and European Cup history.

The Parisians will land in Budapest for the final at the end of the month as favorites to triumph over Arsenal, the team they dispatched in last season’s semifinals.

If they live up to their status as favorites, Enrique’s PSG will achieve a feat that previously only seemed a realistic prospect for the most successful club in Champions League history. Now, PSG have the opportunity to firmly establish themselves as a historic Champions League club.

READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC

Add us as a preferred source on Google